Chapter 3

After getting Mom checked into the hospital and settled, I drove back home to pack an overnight bag to stay with her.

The wedding decorations were still plastered all over the walls, looking sickeningly bright. Charlotte hadn't been tall enough to reach the top, so I had lifted her in my arms to tape them. The sheets on the bed were something we had picked out together, too.

The life we had built together, piece by piece, had completely shattered today.

I had barely zipped my suitcase when the front door opened.

It was Charlotte. She walked straight into the bedroom, clearly assuming I was just throwing another tantrum.

"The house is in your name, so you don't need to pack up and leave. I'm the one moving out.

"And the money I gave you before? You don't have to give it back. Think of it as compensation.

"Just stop giving Josh a hard time. He hasn't had it easy."

That last sentence blew open the rage I'd been trying so hard to suppress.

"He hasn't had it easy?! Then what about me, Charlotte? I gave up everything for you—"

"Enough," Charlotte cut me off, her tone completely indifferent. "I know how much you sacrificed back then. I get it. That's literally why I'm giving you a choice here. Dean, you need to learn to be grateful for what you have."

I froze, tears instantly burning behind my eyes.

It's been eight years of loving her.

We had crammed into a leaky, run-down apartment together, sharing a single frozen meal because we couldn't afford another.

Back when I had my whole career ahead of me, I quit my high-paying job without a second thought just to help her launch her business and chase her dreams.

My parents had called me an idiot, and so did Josh. Yet, after everything, here she was, telling me to be grateful.

When Charlotte caught my bloodshot eyes, she hesitated for a second. She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around me, trying to soothe me the way she used to.

"Dean, like I said, the choice is yours. If you still want to marry me, I'll make it up to you and throw another wedding. But Josh has suffered so much.

"Every time you held me, the aching look in his eyes just broke my heart. You could kiss me out in the open without a care in the world, but he couldn't. He had to stay in the dark, hurting all by himself."

She made it sound so reasonable, yet every word felt like a blade twisting into my chest.

Truth was, the signs had always been there.

Whenever the three of us hung out, I could never seem to get a word in.

Anytime Josh had a stomachache, she always conveniently had medicine ready for him in her purse. Even when both Josh and I got motion sick and threw up on a trip once, she walked right past me to rub his back.

Afterward, Josh would always laugh it off and say, "Man, a woman who truly loves you will care about your friends, too. Dean, a girl like this is hard to find. You better lock her down fast!"

Back then, I had caught a flash of disappointment in Charlotte's eyes. Though I didn't understand it then, I did now.

"So, Charlotte, what do you even see in him?" I choked out, a bitter, tragic laugh escaping my throat.

"Is it because of what he told me? That on your wildest night, he took you eight times? What, were you really that desperate for it, or was he just—"

Before I could finish, the door burst open.

Josh stepped into the room, looking like a deeply wronged saint whose honor had just been tarnished.

"Dean, how could you say that about me?!"

In his hand, he was holding a luxury watch, the exact one I'd been wanting for months. "I already told you it was an accident! Why do you have to humiliate me like this?!"

His eyes were red as he stared at me.

If this had been in the past, I would have immediately backed down, swallowed my pride, and forgiven him. But now, I just sat on the edge of the bed, utterly drained, watching him put on a show.

My numb silence only made Charlotte angrier. She patted his back gently to comfort him, then spun around and screamed in my face.

"Yeah! That's right! We were that desperate!

"That day your dad passed away, when I called you crying on the phone? That wasn't me feeling sorry for you. That was Josh hitting it so hard from behind that I couldn't hold back my—"

"Charlotte!" Josh cut in frantically, lunging forward to clap his hand over her mouth.